We told you earlier the Blueshirts dealt Mike Rupp to the Minnesota Wild for two forwards, including penalty-killing specialist Darroll Powe.

The Rangers also brought up J.T. Miller, who was New York's first-round pick in 2011. They also called up Brandon Mashinter, the former member of the San Jose Sharks organization who was traded to New York before the season began.

We've written extensively about Miller in the past few months: last October, we wrote about how the tough, hard-working forward would be a good match with John Tortorella's style of hockey. Then, we looked at his performance in the World Junior Championship, where he finished with two goals and seven assists as part of the gold medal-winning squad. Thus far, with the Connecticut Whale, he's registered eight goals and 20 points.

Miller could stick around long enough for Ryan Callahan and Chris Kreider to heal, though the Rangers may want to see how far along he is in his growth -- remember, he'll turn 20 next month. Expect to see him work in the corners and have no fear in front of the net, but he may still need work in the AHL before becoming a mainstay on the Rangers' roster.

Mashinter is listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He's known for being physical, but he's also shown a scoring touch lately in the AHL -- in just eight games for the Whale, he's had three goals and seven points. Perhaps the Blueshirts want to ride the hot hand and see if he can create a spark on one of the lower lines.

As for Ferriero, the speedy forward only had one assist in four games, but he was on the receiving end of some positive feedback from Tortorella and his teammates. It could simply be a case of the Rangers still looking for the right mix at the moment, especially with Callahan out for at least another week.